S U N R I S E
by QueenOfThePrideLands
Summary: Taka has to grow up knowing that he will never be king, and Mufasa has to be king whether he wanted to or not. The revelation of their true destiny, from the day of the presentation, could take a toll on the brother's relationship. It could also break the love and trust between their parents — or worse: Destroy the Great Circle of Life as we know it! (Rated T, PG-13)


_"A King's time as ruler rises and falls with the sun," —Wise words of Ahadi that Mufasa is teaching his son Simba_

THE PRESENTATION OF MUFASA

. . . . . .

From the late king Mohatu, Ahadi learned many things. Things he never forgotten, even to this day. Like, for example, Ahadi recalled his last talk with Mohatu as if it were said to him yesterday.

It went like this..

* * *

'Do you love my daughter?' was the question that had been nagging at Mohatu's mind all day that day. Ahadi nodded briskly as he stared out into the starlit night. "Do you love her with all your heart?" Mohatu pressed on.

"Yes I do," Ahadi replied sharply. He paused. "Wait, why are you asking me this?" Does he not think I really love Uru? he wondered with uncertainty.

"Because," the king coughed and his brown gaze traveled to his feet. He sat down and sighed.

"Because..what?" asked Ahadi.

"Because I am dying.." The king looked at his son in law with sincerity in his eyes.

"You are? We could go to Rafiki," Ahadi suggested, knowing that it wasn't such a great idea for them to leave the queen who was in labor alone at Pride Rock, and Mohatu knew this.

"No," said Mohatu, "I want to die — here, at Pride Rock."

"I'll send Zazu. There's got to be something Rafiki can do," the young lion wasn't thinking things through as a king should. As Ahadi's mentor, Mohatu knew that he must tell the prince this sooner than later, because he knew that he didn't have much time left.

"Ahadi," he rasped, "you will be king someday, so I must tell you something that I've never told you before." Mohatu sighed a deep heavy sigh. As he had gotten older, the old king had become very skinny. He looked like a walking skeleton — maybe he is sick, Ahadi thought, seeing how frail Mohatu looked.

"Your Majesty, have you been eating?" asked Ahadi.

"I can't remember the last time I've eaten," admitted Mohatu.

"You're not dying then—you are starving! Your Majesty, I beg your pardon but, you should eat."

Mohatu wasn't sure if the prince knew better so he let him off with a cool warning. "Ahadi don't you ever order me to do anything. A lion who will not eat the meat at his paws is a dying lion, not a starving lion.

"Ahadi, tomorrow will be the day of the presentation. I want to entrust you to summon the kingdom here with me."

"Yes, your Grace," replied Ahadi.

"A king must always summon his Pride in preparation for any royal event. Do you understand why?" Mohatu inquired, wanting to see if Ahadi could grasp the idea of what his roles were.

"I remember you told me 'A king must unify his kingdom'," said Ahadi, that being the first thing to spring up in his mind.

"Correct you are, my pupil. One more thing.."

"Yes, dad—?—I mean King Mohatu, sorry."

"Promise me that you will think things through from here on out."

"I promise," Ahadi said, dipping his head respectively.

"You are ready, son," Mohatu said with gleaming eyes and a big smile.

At the time Ahadi didn't quite get what Mohatu meant by 'You're ready'; but he could only guess that the king meant that he was ready to succeed him.

But before Ahadi could ask for clarification, his questioned was answered; "I can now die peacefully knowing that I've told you all there is to know about being king."

Ahadi and Mohatu shared a memorable embrace.

That was the last thing that said to him before going to join the Great Kings — that a king must always prepare his Pride for every monumental event that would take place at Pride Rock. And if not the king — the second in command was in charge of summoning the kingdom to Pride Rock: home of the lion monarchy.

* * *

Ahadi perceived that he should always remind his kingdom of the moral codes that they too must follow.

Because Ahadi wanted to maintain a peaceful environment within his kingdom, he was contributing to the security of the Great Circle of Life by his understanding of the importance of keeping the Great Circle of Life within the delicate balance. It has been maintained in it's delicate balance for generations — according to Mohatu.

Everyone has a place in the Great Circle of Life, and deserve to live in peace and harmony.

This code gives all grazers the right to have times when they were not to be preyed upon.

On the day of a liturgical presentation ceremonial gathering, predators mustn't hunt. Since a majority of the young audience were prone to forget, a king must take his time to remind everyone of this law. Moreover, when these laws aren't followed, it is because of defiance.

Never complying to the simple procedure as expected of them was an act of defiance. Hyenas plagued their relationship before there even was one. Ahadi saves Uru's life with hyenas ambushed hyenas ambushes her on her first hunt. Ahadi's act of heroism was what granted him a position within the Pride. He had fought off a dozen hyenas to save the loved of his life. Being the skilled fighter he was, Ahadi had managed to fight off all twelve.

Uru couldn't help but develop feelings for her hero. That — and what happened on the day that Uru and Ahadi got married made Ahadi despise their whole kind. On that day, the hyena clan that lived in the Pride Lands alongside lions lost their composure. Driven by that natural borne desire to kill, they completely failed to abide by the rules. Showing ignorance towards their sovereign's principles, the hyenas attacked a gazelle herd. Two of the herd's young were dead, alongside the herd's leader — the remaining members of the herd fled The Pride Lands.

The hyena's unjust act of carelessness required a merciless penalty. Ruled by Mohatu, hyenas were a nuisance in the kingdom and are to live exile for the rest of their era. In the parched Out Lands, the hyenas would die of starvation at any dry season. A vengeance that for the hyenas if they ever returned, that satisfied Ahadi further, was death. Ahadi was strict when it came to lawmaking. Reports of hyena sightings by animals living aboveground and underground — told to Zazu — this was his law.

Zazu is a Hornbill that keeps the peace regulated by gathering reports to the king. He is also the king's royal advisor.

Ahadi could only hope that the hyenas would not even consider disobeying him, but it wasn't like he cared if they did. If they wished to see the light of another they, they would not be present at the presentation of Ahadi's son Mufasa.

* * *

Before the sun began to rise, Ahadi woke up and addressed his Pride.

Traces of dawn delineated as escaping sunlight rose over the distant mountain silhouettes. The ball of blinding light poured into the dip of land, belonging to the Great Kings, covering it. From the summit, and even Pride Rock's peak, Ahadi could see his entire kingdom. As the sky began to light up in vibrant red hues, the silhouette of Ahadi stood on the edge of the pointy rock ledge. To unify his subjects, Ahadi would have to roar so stentorian that it's heard from miles away. Never before had Ahadi summoned a kingdom, nonetheless, he knew how to.

He reminisced the day of the wedding when Mohatu called his kingdom together. He remembered how fascinated he was. To see a herd of gazelle sitting in front of two rows of hyenas was quite the sight to see. Before the sun rose, every subject of Mohatu's kingdom had gathered there, beneath Pride Rock. Harsh rays of sunlight blinded him as he made his way to the very edge of the rock ledge, a long drop to the ground below. Strong winds breeze by, lapping at Ahadi's thick red mane.

Ahadi smiled, and drew back before emitting a stentorian roar that shook the Lands. At the wake of dawn, animals rose. Animals, both big and small prey or predator — all gathered beneath Pride Rock. From an aerial view, thousands of animals have congregated beneath Pride Rock. They waited under the king's watchful eye that scrutinizing the crowd for violators. They waited with their lives on the line to attend this ceremony, whether they showed or chose to not show. Zazu, also the leader of a Hornbill flock, ascends from the sky, leaving his flock. Once he landed at the king's feet, he delivered a formal salutation. This was cue that the ceremony would be ready to begin once Rafiki arrived..

Rafiki was a some kind of primate specimen, who looked like a cross between a baboon and a mandrill. He identified himself as a baboon. Nonetheless, the only thing that was baboon-like about him — his tail. Rafiki was the one who orchestrated the ceremonies. For Rafiki to hold a cub and not drop it proved that he wasn't completely insane. Poor old Rafiki was often still believed to be, and called a lunatic. It was no wonder — he carried a stick around wherever he went.

He called his cane his Bakora Staff, not letting anyone touch it because he said it was magical. He believes his Bakora Staff gives him the power to communicate with the other side — the spirit realm. He also believed that he could make pictures appear on walls that no one, but the the royal mjuzi and the insane, can see. And not only that — he said that if he points his staff at these imaginary paintings — the pictures move.

The presentation would begin upon the arrival of this crazy, royal mjuzi. As the vulnerable crowd were waiting in anticipation, their king, Ahadi, spoke to them. When Ahadi addressed the commoners, he demanded that he had all their attention.

"Good morning to all." Ahadi's smooth, deep voice faded into the sound of the winds hurtling by. "Before I begin my announcement, I urge parents — to remind your little ones of the law of ceremonies."

Within several heartbeats, soft whispers of hundreds of voices swept through the crowd. Ahadi heard most of them say quick, in verbatim: be still and give our king your undivided attention.

"Thank you," the king rumbled, dipping his head and flicking his tail for silence. "I've gathered you all here to hereby announce that Our Queen has given birth to a healthy male." He said while turning back, glancing at his wife. Surrounded by her pride sisters, on the smooth grounds of Pride Rock lied the queen. And cradled in her arms was a golden-furred sleeping cub. He turned back around to thousands of pairs of admiring eyes looking up at him. "My son's name is Mufasa and he will be my successor. Let's not rejoice until Rafiki has arrived and again while my son is being presented to you."

Ahadi wanted his subjects to stand still and quiet as he spoke to them so no one rejoiced. Rejoicing before the king's approval was a form of disrespect. And any form of disrespect would result in death. Even those that were not intelligent, but value their survival obeyed Ahadi. — This made Ahadi wonder, if the hyenas would have listened to him if he was in power, with this law, instead of Mohatu.

Zazu whispered something into Ahadi's ear.

"Oh, I forgot to mention: when Rafiki waves his staff, that's your cue to be quiet."

King Ahadi was a handsome golden-furred lion and thick black mane. He looked regal and strong, using Pride Rock as his pedestal. His muscular stature and head of mane conveyed the obvious. — He was the lord of the land, although he was not a descendant of the Great Kings of the Past. Ahadi still had royal blood coursing through his veins. That was because he was, in fact, born prince. He wasn't prince of the Pride Lands, but of a land far away. Ahadi's memory of his birth Pride were vague. What drove him from it was when his mother was murdered by his torturous father Scar. Scar tried to kill Ahadi because after killing the queen, he was exiled, and Ahadi would be the very first cub to rule.

As Ahadi observed the array of different species of mammals, reptiles and amphibians, something caught his eye. What had caught the sovereign's eye was three round gourds dangling from a stick. The stick floated through the crowd of gathered animals. Ahadi stared, and smiled when the primate holding the stick emerged from the crowd and up to the king. Acting with hesitance, Rafiki patted the top of Ahadi's head. Ahadi purred — and the smile on the king's face had grown bigger.

This was to be Rafiki's very first time officially presenting a cub to the land-dwellers, in the succession of Babu. Thanks to Babu, Rafiki knew every single thing about how to be the emperor's own royal advisor and the shaman. Babu was a veteran until his time came, when it was time for his apprentice to take his place.

Rafiki put his arm around Ahadi's nape as the two friends overlooked the congregation.

The animals cheered. The ones who walked on four legs rose to their two hind-legs, chiming in with the other raised voices.

"Everyone is here! I hear dem all!" Chanted the simian, waving his staff in the air. "Are you sure you never did'is before?" Rafiki was asking Ahadi. Ahadi had summoned his kingdom there, and there was still a lot of time before the sun had fully risen yet.

Rafiki silenced the crowd with the wave of his staff — a cue he considered the act of magic.

A soft beam of light shone over Pride Rock, parting through the clouds.

"It is time," Rafiki chants to himself, humming a toon as he is led,

The cub was sleeping until he could sense something standing in his light; it was Rafiki, a creepy looking simian monkey. Smiling happily, Rafiki smiled down at the sleepy infant. The tiny pair of eyes belonging to the cub that stared up at him we're full of the naive curiosity that drove him to play with Rafiki's staff. Little Mufasa unsheathed his claws and grasped one of the guards that dangled from Rafiki's Bakora Staff, and tried to bite it open like a lion eating it's prey. Rafiki has no trouble retrieving the hours from the little beast.

Uru grabbed the squirming cub, holding him in her teeth as Rafiki preformed the ritual. Mufasa had not been calm enough to allow Rafiki to do it while lying down. His feistiness only foreshadowed the lion he would grow up to be. One powerful and strong.

Once the ritual was done, Rafiki picked up the wriggling cub and stood on the edge of Pride Rock. Mufasa did not stop squirming until he saw all the animals that were looking up at him.

And more rays of life from the heavens poured down from the clouds, onto the stone pedestal Rafiki stood upon. It was like the Great Kings were also watching Rafiki subject Prince Mufasa to the animals that congregated patiently below for this moment.

They bowed before the king, the royal mjuzi, and their new prince...

Mufasa.


End file.
